China’s flag-bearing rover photographed on moon

BEIJING — Chinese state media say the country’s first rover on the moon and the landing vehicle that took it there have taken photos of each other on the lunar surface.

The color images showed the Chinese national flag on the rover named Yutu, or “Jade Rabbit,” after a mythological creature.

Lunar program officials said the photographs taken Sunday night China time showed that the landing vehicle and rover functioned well and the mission was a success, according to remarks carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.

The Chang’e 3 landed on the moon on Saturday evening. It was the world’s first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades.

The landing vehicle and rover have now begun on separate scientific experiments.